The Black Bloc: Inside America’s Hard Left

VICE met members of Philadelphia's Antifa movement to learn more about their tactics before they went out to a local Trump rally.

The left-leaning anti-fascist movement—or Antifa—has been around for decades, popping up in North America and Europe in response to rising white nationalist or fascist sentiments. Now, Antifa has made a resurgence in the US, where members clad in masks and nondescript black clothing physically confront groups of white supremacists and neo-Nazis who've started organizing in cities around the country.

Since the 2016 presidential election, Antifa has become a staple at alt-right and Trump-related rallies that often result in violence. VICE met up with a few Antifa activists in Philadelphia who engage in "Black Bloc" actions to find out more about their ideology, tactics, and individual reasons for participating in a high-risk form of activism.